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Double Standards are Pro-Israeli-Right

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James Adler
James Adler was born in Kentucky, now works in university libraries, and feels especially and intensely bound up with the
… [More]fate of the Jewish people in the last hundred years, especially the Shoah, the rise of Israel "out of the ashes," and the accidental and mutually tragic collision with the Palestinians in the early and middle of the 20th century, continuing through today. He is happily married and the father of two teenagers. [Less]

“He [Netanyahu] is “right to complain about double standards in the treatment of Israel by the international community.”

Such a complaint is at the heart of Israeli Hasbara.

But does David mean “international community” or – the “Western community?

If he and PM Netanyahu mean the Western community– then they would be absolutely and fundamentally wrong.

Western Double Standards are “pro-” rather than “anti-” Israeli Right.

The West is partly sanctioning and has almost returned to a Cold War footing with Putin and Russia for its occupation of Crimea and threats on the Ukraine.

The West to a large extent BDSed the Soviet Union and launched an arms race and Cold War and created NATO against it because of its expansionism and occupation of Eastern Europe.

The same with pre-Deng Xiaoping China– arms race, cold war, the US kept them out of the UN and had not even diplomatic relations with it for decades, total BDS for decades, and has certainly still total arms and military secrets and sensitive technologies sanctions now and doubtless into the farthest future.

To avoid a nuclear war, at all costs, the West couldn’t liberate the occupied Eastern Europeans or fight for the occupied Tibetans, but we did launch the Cold War, arms race, sanction all military secrets and arms and sensitive technologies, and in the case of China imposed decades-long complete BDS, diplomatic non-recognition, and a decades-long effort to keep it out of the United Nations.

Against Syria – whether the Assad dynasty or now ISIS in Syria – of course we have total BDS –and again especially total arms BDS – and last year considered and nearly bombed the Assad state, and are now obviously bombing ISIS.

Against Qaddafi’s Libya and Saddam’s Iraq we conducted heavy bombing, and in Desert Storm mounted an international coalition to militarily push back Saddam’s invasion and occupation of Kuwait.

We launched a bombing campaign against Slobodan Milosević’s Serbia – including its capital city Belgrade — due to Serbia’s expansionism in the Balkan peninsula, and on behalf of the Bosnian and Croatian and other victims of that would-be Greater Serbia.

But the rightist government of Israel? With this occupying and settling and expansionist country the United States has a “special relationship,” and gives 3 billion in direct aid a year. And much more in private funding and loan credit guarantees. It receives American state-of-the-art military high-tech weaponry and secrets. The only country in the world with such occupationist and expansionist policies that has, by the farthest stretch of the imagination, anything even most wildly or remotely like this.

And all this basically enables Israel to afford — and thus it subsidizes — the expansionism and occupation.

Would we help China subsidize the occupation of Tibet? Help the Soviet Union occupy Eastern Europe? Help Putin’s Russia occupy Crimea and threaten the Eastern Ukraine? Help Assad try to dominate Lebanon? Help Qaddafi? Help Saddam expand into and occupy Kuwait? Help Milosević expand into and occupy the whole of Serbia?

An emphatic and resounding No — the Opposite — speaks for itself.

We oppose the policies and actions all other expansionist states. They become our adversaries. And targets of everything from military BDS, to economic BDS, even to bombings–and even to “boots on the ground.”

US and Western double-standards are all Pro Israeli-Right.

The Double Standards are not “Anti.” But intensely and profoundly “Pro.”

Most critical to understand:

It’s not that Syria’s Kurds (or many peoples) have not had it worse than the Palestinians. The Israeli Right always says this and it’s of course correct; the Kurds and many peoples have had it worse.

But this misses the point. The point is that the West — and especially America — has never turned the Syrian oppressors of the Kurds (or any oppressor of any people or state–) into our biggest aid recipients and into our coziest chums.

For Israel’s occupation and expansionism which has lasted even longer than the Soviet Union’s over Eastern Europe.

This is the most fundamental fact about Double Standards. It turns the usual Rightist “double standards” charge upside down and on its head.

Ancient to modern history alike show that expansionism and occupations can be very “democratically” popular among the public. Such among Russians when Russia’s Putin took over Crimea.

The same with the Settlement Movement and majority voting public of Israel.

And the same history also shows that withdrawals can be very unpopular. Such as when Gorbachev and Yeltsin let Eastern Europe and the so-called “Republics” of the Soviet Union to go free.

And what Israel’s public would do to its government if Israel returned the settlers and ended the occupation.

This seems the the heart and core of double standards, when it comes to occupations and expansionism:

All modern and credible claimants to Western democratic status; and all beneficiaries of close Western ties; and among all of these who want close Western economic and military organizational affiliations: all of these are held very strictly to the exact same standards. This except for one single exception: The Right-wing-governed state of Israel.

Western double standards actually are at total reverse of that which the Right –and also the Center, despite the knowledge, wisdom, and brilliance of our own distinguished Editor, David — falsely maintain.

These actual Western Double Standards support the Israeli Right in helping it hold down the Palestinians. In fact being pro-Israeli Right may constitute the most striking instance of favoritism and indeed comprise the Mother of all Double Standards of the entire Western World.

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